Specialist, Business Development

Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

Date

2026

Location

1300 Airport Road, North Brunswick NJ 

Title

Specialist, Business Development

Department

Sales

Reports to

Senior Vice President, Business Development

FLSA (Exempt or Non-Exempt

Exempt

Role Overview

Specialist, Business Development is responsible for identifying, developing, and securing new business opportunities for the company's Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO/CMO) services and product solutions. This role focuses on generating new business within the nutraceutical, dietary supplement, vitamin, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, consumer health, and related industries.

The Specialist serves as a primary point of contact for prospective customers, building and maintaining a qualified sales pipeline, developing strong customer relationships, understanding client needs, and collaborating with internal technical, operations, quality, and commercial teams to convert opportunities into long-term business partnerships.

This position is ideal for a highly motivated, results-oriented individual who enjoys prospecting, networking, and driving business growth. The successful candidate will play a key role in expanding the company's customer base and support revenue growth through strategic business development initiatives.

Areas of Responsibility

Business Development

• Identify, target, and secure new business opportunities within the nutraceutical, dietary supplement, vitamin, wellness, and consumer health markets.
• Develop and execute strategic business development plans to expand market presence and generate revenue growth.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective clients through networking, industry events, referrals, cold calling, and outbound prospecting.
• Establish relationships with key decision-makers, including founders, CEOs, brand owners, product development teams, procurement leaders, operations leaders, R&D teams and executive stakeholders. 
• Analyze market trends, competitive activity, and customer needs to identify growth opportunities.
• Represent the company at trade shows, conferences, and industry networking events.

Sales & Account Acquisition

• Drive the full sales cycle from lead generation through contract negotiation and account onboarding.
• Present the company's CDMO manufacturing capabilities, technical expertise, and service offerings to prospective clients.
• Develop customized proposals and solutions that align with client objectives and manufacturing requirements.
• Coordinate with internal teams to prepare proposals, quotations, capability presentations, and customer responses.
• Support contract negotiations and commercial discussions with prospective customers. Consistently achieve or exceed assigned sales and business development targets.
• Maintain accurate sales forecasts and pipeline activity within the CRM system.

Market Intelligence

• Monitor market trends, competitive activity, emerging product categories, and customer needs within the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
• Identify opportunities for new product categories, manufacturing capabilities, and strategic partnerships.
• Provide market intelligence and customer feedback to support product and service development initiatives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with R&D, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and Customer Success teams to ensure successful client onboarding and project execution.
• Support the transition of new business opportunities into long-term customer partnerships.
• Support customer site visits, audits, technical discussions, and project kick-off activities.
• Facilitate communication between prospective customers and internal subject matter experts.

Reporting and Administration

• Maintain complete and accurate customer and opportunity records.
• Prepare pipeline, forecast, and business development reports as requested.
• Participate in sales meetings, commercial reviews, and strategic planning activities.

Other Responsibilities Including Safety:

• Works in a safe and responsible manner in order to create an injury-free and incident-free workplace.
• Complies with all job-related safety and other training requirements.
• Keeps management informed of area activities and of any significant problems.

Requirements

Education & Qualification:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field preferred.
• 3 + years of business development and sales experience in nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, vitamins, consumer health products, pharmaceuticals, or CDMO/contract manufacturing.
• Proven track record of acquiring new clients and generating revenue through business development efforts.
• Experience selling contract manufacturing, private-label, or formulation services is highly preferred.
• Pharmaceutical industry experience is a plus, particularly with companies involved in consumer health, vitamins, supplements, or wellness products.
• Strong network within the nutraceutical, dietary supplement, or consumer packaged goods industry preferred.
• Excellent prospecting, negotiation, presentation, and relationship-management skills.
• Demonstrated hunter mentality with the ability to independently source and close new business opportunities.
• Proficiency in CRM systems and Microsoft Office Suite. 

Certifications, Licenses, Credentials:

• N/A

Travel Requirements

• Willingness to travel extensively (50–75%).
• Ability to visit prospective clients, attend trade shows, and participate in industry events.
• Comfortable with overnight and regional travel to generate new business opportunities.

Skills & Ability

• Client-obsessed with a strong aptitude in a structured sales approach.
• Self-motivated with exceptional talent in closing deals.
• Strong knowledge in the complete end-to-end sales cycle (from prospecting to closing).
• Exceptional prospecting/hunter skills and experience.
• Experience in pharmaceuticals and/or manufacturing environment is a plus.
• Good communication and Email writing skills.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance may be measured through the following metrics:

• New Business Revenue Generated
• Annual Quota Achievement

• Qualified Pipeline Generated
• Number of New Customer Opportunities Created
• Number of Customer Meetings Conducted
• Proposal-to-Win Ratio
• Customer Acquisition Rate
• CRM Data Accuracy and Forecast Reliability
• Strategic Account Development Activities

Physical Requirements (lifting, etc.):  

• Ability to navigate office, lab, and/or plant floor working environments. 
• Standard office environment without unpleasant or hazardous conditions. Physical demands involved in office work such as the ability to talk, hear, use hands to handle and feel; work on a computer up to 7 hours a day; close vision required for computer usage.

• Must have the ability to wear applicable personal protective equipment utilized at this site, including safety glasses/goggles, hairnets, lab coats and safety shoes.

Work Environment (Office, Warehouse, temperature extremes, etc.):

• Exposed to lab and/or plant floor working environments. 
• Standard office environment without unpleasant or hazardous conditions.
• Temperature controlled for heat and air conditioning.

Success Profile

The ideal candidate is a highly motivated business developer with a hunter mentality who enjoys identifying opportunities, building relationships, and creating long-term partnerships. This individual is comfortable engaging with entrepreneurs, emerging brands, and established manufacturers, and possesses the persistence, curiosity, and commercial acumen necessary to drive sustainable growth within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.

For USPL specifically, I would pos